As part of Algeria's effort to encourage citizens to participate in the 10 May legislative election, the human rights commission suggested that people be forced to vote. Farouk Ksentini, chairman of the National Consultative Committee for the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights (CNCPPDH), on 7 April proposed that there should be a punishment for those who fail to vote.

The Moroccan Parliament is debating a new bill that would give the prime minister some of the power now held by King Mohammed VI. The proposed law is considered among the most important political reforms brought by the new constitution in Morocco, since the power of appointments was limited to the king under the previous constitution.

South Africa's governing African National Congress (ANC) has upheld the expulsion of Julius Malema as the party’s youth league leader, a statement has said. The ANC's statement said: 'In respect of the present disciplinary hearing, the [ANC National Disciplinary Committee of Appeal] NDCA confirms the sanction imposed by the NDC that the appellant be expelled from the ANC.' Malema, 31, was suspended in November after being found guilty of three of the charges against him - including bringing the party into disrepute by calling for regime change in Botswana.

The Zimbabwe Unemployed People’s Association (ZUPA) has issued a statement calling for investigations into allegations that girls, some barely teenagers, at a primary school in Zimbabwe were stripped in front of their male counterparts while adults examined their private parts. 'If true, this would be one of the worst cases of abuse of the rights of the girl child which is why the Ministry of Social Services must immediately commission an investigation into the allegations.'

Since it assumed power after Hosni Mubarak’s ouster, the performance of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) has been, at times, head-scratching, says this briefing from the International Crisis Group. 'Extolled in the wake of the uprising as the revolution’s protector, many have come to view it as an agent of the counter-revo­lu­tion. It often has been obstinate, before abruptly yielding to pressure. It values its long ties with Washington, from which it receives much assistance, but seemed willing to jeopardise them by targeting US-funded NGOs.'

Thousands of Malawians last Monday converged on Ndata Farm, the sprawling private estate of former President Bingu wa Mutharika, to witness the funeral service of the 78-year-old economist-turned politician. Mutharika died suddenly on 5 April after collapsing in his office at the New State House in the capital, Lilongwe. Several African leaders, including Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, Mwai Kibaki of Kenya and Armando Geubuza of Mozambique and African Union Commission Chairman Jean Ping, attended the Catholic Church Ceremony.

Zimbabwe police on Monday arrested 15 members of the MDC formation headed by Industry Minister Welshman Ncube, including three councilors, in Tsholotsho district accusing them of holding political meetings without clearance. They will be charged under the widely-condemned Public Order and Security Act, the party said. Police were not immediately available for comment.

This special issue is the culmination of an ESRC-funded research project to examine the impact of rising powers on the global politics of development. The research has identified a second tier of rising powers beyond the much-studied BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India and China), including Turkey, South Africa, South Korea and Mexico, that will play a critical role in future politics of development.

The junta in Guinea Bissau on Saturday said its plan for a two-year transition had only been a suggestion, in an apparent climbdown following threats of UN and regional sanctions. Hours afterwards the opposition politician picked as transitional president by the junta told news agency AFP he was turning down what he described as an 'illegal' appointment. The junta has come under fire from the United Nations and the west African regional grouping Ecowas for failing to restore civilian rule after an April 12 military coup.

Thousands of young Mauritanian opposition protestors took to the streets of Nouakchott Sunday to demand President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, a former coup leader, step down. 'We're ready to oust Aziz,' the demonstrators chanted during a march that wound up in front of the national broadcaster, which the protestors described as 'the symbol of the regime's tyranny'.

The bitter split between two warring ZANU PF factions has widened following the hotly disputed District Coordinating Committee (DCC) elections in most of the country’s provinces. The elections, that have seen many candidates linked to Defence Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa romp to victory, have however been marred by reports of violence, intimidation and vote-rigging. Signs of growing structural fissures in the ¬former ruling party have emerged with key members belonging to Vice-President Joice Mujuru’s camp openly disputing election results from the restructuring exercise.

Demand Obama institute a National Plan of Action for Racial Justice to end the epidemic of Black murders.

An analysis of the relevance of concepts of ‘Common Goods’ and ‘Common Good for Humanity’ in the struggle for alternatives to neoliberal capitalism.

The African Union (AU) has suspended Guinea Bissau from the 54-member bloc with immediate effect, a senior AU official said. The Pan-African organization also threatened to impose more sanctions on the West African nation if the soldiers who seized power there failed to respond positively to the call to restore constitutional order. The decision to suspend Guinea Bissau's membership was taken by the AU's Peace and Security Council (PSC), after discussing the military coup in the country.

What makes the cake episode so deeply offensive is the appropriation, by both artist and his audience, of African women’s bodies and experiences, while completely excluding real African women from the discourse. It is a pornography of violence.

A policy paper is to be presented to the annual World Bank conference on land and poverty in Washington DC in the United States, which focuses on the confrontation between peasant producers and investors in the Mozambican province of Zambezia. Written by Simon Norfolk and Joseph Hanlon, the paper looks at divisions in the Mozambican government over whether it should support foreign investment to promote a technological leap in agriculture, or if it should support small scale farming to increase productivity.

Uganda needs 650,000 more latrines to ensure that every Ugandan has access to a latrine. Currently, at least 3.2 million Ugandans have no latrines at all and their place of convenience is the open space, according to the latest Work Bank report. The report indicates that another 13.8 million Ugandans use unsanitary or share latrines. This poor sanitation is costing the country at least sh389bn annually.

As Pambazuka Press republishes 'How Europe Underdeveloped Africa' we publish a tribute to the late Walter Rodney – who was assassinated by government agents in Guyana in 1980 – tracing his life, career and continuing legacy.

Swaziland’s democratic movement remains defiant and resolute in the face of police intimidation and brutality.

An excerpt from a presentation at the United National Anti-War Coalition national conference, 24 March 2012.